Freedonia Analysts Discuss Electrolux's Smart Refrigerator & Its Impact on Online Grocery Shopping

Electrolux Partnered With Karma to Introduce a Smart Refrigerator For Use As A Storage and Pickup Point for Sales of Food That Would Otherwise Be Thrown Away

News provided by

The Freedonia Group

Nov 13, 2018, 13:20 ET

CLEVELAND, Nov. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On November 6, Electrolux introduced a smart refrigerator along with its partner Karma, a startup dedicated to reducing food waste by making unsold restaurant food and groceries available to consumers. This refrigerator will be integrated with Karma's app and will serve as a storage and pickup point for Karma purchases. The refrigerator features a smart lock through which a customer can retrieve items purchased via the Karma app by using a QR code.

Currently only available at the grocery store ICA Kvantum Liljeholmen in Stockholm, Sweden until December 31, 2018, it provides a way for grocery stores to offer unsold food that they would otherwise have to throw away.

Hjalmar Ståhlberg Nordegren, CEO and co-founder of Karma, called the refrigerator "the first step in our common effort to rescue more food from landfill and to protect the environment."

Tove Chevalley, Head of Digital Innovation at Electrolux, pointed out, "By combining ours and Karma's unique qualifications, we have been able to create an innovative solution that makes it easier for consumers and food suppliers to save food from ending up in landfill."

According to Freedonia Group analyst and manager of consumer and commercial research Jennifer Mapes-Christ, "Although online grocery shopping is still a niche industry, it is rapidly growing as sales more than tripled between 2013 and 2018 in the US. Grocery stores will be looking for a variety of ways to make online shopping accessible to customers while keeping costs low. Refrigerators such as this one will provide a self-serve avenue for retrieving online food orders beyond current curbside pickup and costly at-home delivery options."

Kyle Peters, Freedonia Group analyst and manager of capital good research, notes, "Electrolux has typically manufactured commercial refrigerators for the foodservice market, but this is a great opportunity for them to gain a foothold in food retail, especially in their home market"

Additional analysis of the commercial refrigeration and food delivery industries can be found in the following reports: Freedonia Group's Global Commercial Refrigeration Equipment and Commercial Refrigeration in the US reports and Packaged Facts' report Online Grocery Shopping in the US, 2^nd Edition.

About The Freedonia Group – The Freedonia Group, a division of MarketResearch.com, is a leading international industrial research company publishing more than 100 studies annually. Since 1985 we have provided research to customers ranging in size from global conglomerates to one-person consulting firms. More than 90% of the industrial companies in the Fortune 500 use Freedonia Group research to help with their strategic planning. Each study includes product and market analyses and forecasts, in-depth discussions of important industry trends, and market share information. Studies can be purchased at www.freedoniagroup.com and are also available on www.marketresearch.com and www.profound.com.

About Packaged Facts – Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer demographics and shopper insights, consumer financial products and services, consumer goods and retailing, and pet products and services. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services. Reports can be purchased at our company website and are also available through MarketResearch.com.

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SOURCE The Freedonia Group